Mizz Fiercely Independent

We are working towards independence this week...mostly in the morning routine. I would like to say its so that they can feel grown up or being self-sufficient adults but it's really because I would like to maximize my sleep time in whatever way I can and hope that at some point, my kids will do all the work around here like I had to do growing up. I was always convinced that was why my mom had so many kids...it was her own Merry Maids division.


We have worked on getting your own breakfast however I discovered that S has a vast affinity for butter as evidenced by large finger gouges in the butter. She didn't so much butter her toast as she did just eat it plain (gag!). K likes to pour her own cereal...which usually ends up in an overflowing bowl that she then tries to get back into the bag/box only to spill all over the counter.


I'm teaching them how to sort and do laundry...so far, several facial tissues, tubes of chapstick, stickers, and wintergreen individually wrapped mints have been washed along with our clothes. Next on the list is teaching them to check pockets before putting things in the wash!

Some things I have put on the forbidden list still...such as doing their own fingernail polish (had to try to get silver glitter polish off a white duvet cover...impossible...finally gave up and bought a new one), running the TV remote (two kids + lots of remote buttons being randomly pushed = weird settings on the TV that I can't seem to undo), and doing their own hair.

S really wants to do her own hair. Sometimes I let her practice on Saturdays because then no one will see it. I wish I could post a picture of the last frizzed out bouffant hairdo she did and then you would understand. I suppose a good mom would let her do her thing but I start developing a tic in my right eye if their hair looks disastrous. Perhaps it's the judgement of black women I fear the most. I want to prove that my AA girls can hang with the best even though their adoptive mama had to learn how to cornrow off of a YouTube video.